About this committee

Red Tape Committee

On 11 October 2016, the Senate resolved to establish the Select Committee on Red Tape and is to be known as the 'Red Tape Committee'. The committee is to inquire into effect of restrictions and prohibitions on business (red tape) on the economy and community, with particular reference to:

the effects on compliance costs (in hours and money), economic output, employment and government revenue, with particular attention to industries, such as mining, manufacturing, tourism and agriculture, and small business;

any specific areas of red tape that are particularly burdensome, complex, redundant or duplicated across jurisdictions;

the impact on health, safety and economic opportunity, particularly for the low-skilled and disadvantaged;

the effectiveness of the Abbott, Turnbull and previous governments’ efforts to reduce red tape;

the adequacy of current institutional structures (such as Regulation Impact Statements, the Office of Best Practice Regulation and red tape repeal days) for achieving genuine and permanent reductions to red tape;

alternative institutional arrangements to reduce red tape, including providing subsidies or tax concessions to businesses to achieve outcomes currently achieved through regulation;

how different jurisdictions in Australia and internationally have attempted to reduce red tape; and

any related matters.

The committee is due to report on or by 3 December 2018.

The committee has decided to conduct its inquiry by inquiring into and reporting on specific areas:

The committee will advise the commencement of each inquiry on the committee's webpage, and at that time, organisations and individuals will be invited to participate.

Submitters should ensure that their submission addresses the terms of reference for each inquiry. The committee does not have the power to examine, advise on or advocate for individual cases but may use personal submissions as illustrative examples.

The select committee concluded its inquiry when it tabled its final report on 3 December 2018.